


One Year Down, Ten to Go

by Teacup_pirate



Series: Ineffable Parents [7]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale is the Principality of the LGBTQ+ community, Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Female-Presenting Aziraphale (Good Omens), Female-Presenting Crowley (Good Omens), Fluff, Genderfluid Crowley (Good Omens), He/Him Pronouns For Crowley (Good Omens), Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Ineffable Wives (Good Omens), Kid Fic, No beta we fall like Crowley, Other, Raising the anti-christ, She/Her Pronouns for Aziraphale (Good Omens), She/Her Pronouns for Crowley (Good Omens), Slice of Life, Snake Crowley (Good Omens), South Downs Cottage (Good Omens), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ineffable parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22451542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teacup_pirate/pseuds/Teacup_pirate
Summary: Aziraphale and Crowley delight in Adam's growth, celebrating and encouraging each milestone he reaches as his first birthday approaches.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Ineffable Parents [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574878
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	One Year Down, Ten to Go

Aziraphale, Crowley, and Anathema were enjoying the weather that had started to warm toward spring in the garden of the Dowling estate. While the adults sat in chairs around a small table, Adam and Warlock were busy attempting to crawl off the picnic blanket they currently were bunching up underneath them. This is how Crowley found the thing that could fully distract Aziraphale, even from the prophecy book in her gloved hands. Crowley and Anathema had been talking animatedly when she stole a glance over to her angel, who was smiling and watching the two children play with each other. Crowley traced the angel’s gaze to see the boys complete their first goal, both taking a break and sitting in the grass off of the picnic blanket. A smile broke over the demon’s face as well, and she did her best to wrangle her mobile out of her jeans pocket. Crowley called over to Adam and Warlock to get their attention and snapped a picture as both babies turned to the sound of their names. 

“I think you have more pictures of Warlock than his parents do,” Anathema commented absently as Crowley showed her the picture before she sent it via text message.

Neither the angel nor the demon were surprised, both consistently got pictures from Anathema and took their own pictures while out on play dates. The only photos of Warlock in the estate were from a professional set that had been taken and released to the press for the announcement of his birth. 

Crowley turned the mobile towards Aziraphale which made her coo, “They look like twins! How precious!”

After the photo, Adam and Warlock started to exchange toys and make repetitive sounds back and forth to each other. The blanket became even more rumpled as Adam used to it pull more of their toys towards them that had been abandoned to the crawling adventure. 

When it was close to snack time, Crowley set her mobile on the small table as Aziraphale set up the finger food for both children. Aziraphale and Anathema knelt in the grass a few paces from the table and got out their mobiles as Crowley retrieved a large ball from the extra toy bin they had brought down from Warlock’s nursery. Crowley sauntered over, placed the ball a short distance from the boys, tapped a fingernail on it to make it slightly bounce and grab their attention. While Adam and Warlock turned to focus on the new movement, Crowley circled around behind them and transformed into a snake. She slithered between the two and pushed the ball to make it roll towards the table. It quickly turned into a cool game, a race to touch the ball to make it move. Crowley only helped with a small push of her snout when Adam and Warlock were even with each other, no clear winner on who would push the ball next. The finish line was the waiting arms of Aziraphale and Anathema, who separately filmed the contest at two different angles. As the angel scooped up a giggling Adam, Crowley slithered up Aziraphale’s arm and tickled Adam’s cheek with her forked tongue on her way up to wrap around the angel’s shoulders. 

=====================

The resource center was a comfortable and safe space. Pride flags adorned every window and it emitted a welcoming aura. A couple of the bookshelves had remained, now housing fiction and non-fiction contents specifically geared towards the LGBTQ+ community. It had surprised Crowley when Aziraphale had asked to go to a bookshop to buy modern books, but when Aziraphale explained and then spent time reading each book it made much more sense to the demon. Aziraphale bought multiples of the books she liked and also bought copies of books she owned the precious first edition of by relevant authors. Old habits died hard though, and Aziraphale would not let the books leave the center. Instead, the angel provided bookmarks for people to mark their places, and many of them were smart enough to write their name on their bookmark so they could find their particular bookmark faster. Aziraphale had set up reading nooks at every window and along the unoccupied wall space, some featuring small tables. There was an obligatory pamphlet stand near the door, and in a far corner there was one computer terminal for online research. The backroom had been converted into a private office which now sported a pocket door for when Aziraphale would need privacy when someone needed to talk about their problems. 

Aziraphale elected to take one day off a week from the resource center, which actually had regular hours unlike the bookshop. Wednesday was the best day as determined by the angel’s logic. Monday was apparently a stressful day for humans, (a constraint they put on themselves Crowley insisted, who had taken credit for the widespread dread put on the day) and would come for comfort and safety. Tuesdays were sometimes busy due to commitments and decisions made on stressful Mondays. Thursday and Friday visitors were generally people looking for advice on whether to come out to family during the weekend or were nervous about dates. Saturday and Sunday were for those who were returning from trips, worked during the week, or just wanted a safe place to hang out and read.

======

It was a rainy Wednesday at the cottage and Adam was using Aziraphale’s hands to balance his standing as Aziraphale sat on the couch. Adam was faced towards his angelic mama as his demonic mummy set up their next game. Aziraphale made overly expressive faces as she praised Adam for being such a strong boy to keep himself up on two legs. When Aziraphale looked up and found only a mound of pillows arranged on the living room floor and no Crowley, Aziraphale knew the demon was ready. Aziraphale slowly helped Adam turn around and helped him toddle forward to the pile. 

“Where’s mummy?” Aziraphale asked as she tentatively took a hand out of Adam’s iron grip and pointed to the arranged mess.

Adam squealed in excitement and let go of Aziraphale’s other hand to take two tiny steps before falling face first into a pillow. Aziraphale couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as she backed towards the couch and pulled out her mobile to film the search. Adam pushed himself up enough to not suffocate, but not to full standing as he now tried to climb the soft surface. 

Adam was clumsy but determined, and would giggle every time he would get a glimpse of red or black scales. Adam was happily entertained and would give an excited vibration of muummuum when Crowley would poke her head out of the pillows to flick her tongue out at the baby before diving back into the pillows. 

As the game progressed, Aziraphale moved from the couch so she could continue to get a good angle. Crowley was still the better photographer but Aziraphale had improved significantly over the last several months. As Adam tired, Crowley let more of her scales and coils be visible so Adam could capture his prize. Adam put a small hand around a coil and gripped gently with a small tug. At this triumphant touch, Crowley curled her bottom half around Adam’s arm and waist.

Aziraphale switched to photo mode as she quickly snapped a picture as she cooed to get Adam’s attention, “Adam, do you have your mummy? Or does your mummy have you?”

Adam giggled as Crowley’s front half came out from the pillows and her tongue flicked out at the victor. Aziraphale snapped another picture before she placed the mobile on the floor and climbed into the pile to join her loves. Adam let go of his prize so he had both hands to help climb on top of the best pillow of all. Crowley slithered away and transformed back into her human form to join the cuddle party. 

After enthusiastic praises, Adam settled on Aziraphale’s chest and Crowley snuggled in even closer as the mid-morning nap was fast approaching after a very taxing end to exercise for Adam. Everyone’s breathing evened out, and even Aziraphale had started to doze when her discarded mobile rang. Adam whimpered, and Crowley threw a glare in the direction of the noise that dared interrupt them. Aziraphale made to get up, which upset and woke Adam more so Crowley got up instead to retrieve the mobile. Aziraphale looked at the screen for a moment before she answered quietly. 

“Hello?” 

The sound of rain could be heard in the background, “Hi Az, it’s Frankie. I didn’t know where else to go and I forgot you were closed today….” the woman on the phone started to ramble.

“Oh dear! Are you alright?” Aziraphale was worried, Frankie was in an abusive relationship.

“Physically, the doctors patched me up pretty good. They called the police to take a report, I was honest with them like you told me to be.”

“I’m proud of you,” Aziraphale said gently before she turned on her warning tone, “You are pressing charges this time.”

“I know. I promised. Az, I don’t want to go back to the flat, Marge might still be there.”

“And you shouldn’t. Face the door. On the right side, the second panel down from the window, there should be a notch on the side.”

“I see it,” Frankie said as she looked at the locked door.

“Pry it open, my spare key is in there. The stairs to my flat are behind that Victorian changing curtain you like so much. Use whatever you need dear, I won’t be back tonight.”

“Oh you are a Godsend Az! Thank you so much!” Frankie started to cry happy tears.

“Feel free to stay as long as you need. We’ll talk about it when I get in tomorrow.”

“Thank you again. You are an angel. Sorry to disturb your day off with this.”

“Goodbye Frankie.”

“Bye Az,” Frankie said before she hung up her mobile and opened the panel she didn’t know hadn’t existed before now.

Aziraphale hung up on her end, and Crowley took the offending piece of technology away and flung it in the direction of the couch. Adam had settled back down as he felt the vibrations of Aziraphale’s voice during the phone call. Crowley curled back in still a bit miffed at the interruption.

“Are you upset that I’ve given my mobile number out to humans?”

Crowley took a deep breath and composed her thoughts, the angel could read her so well. “It’s what mobiles are for, Angel. Plus its, gah, nice, to see you do work for your principality. The timing was just not ideal.”

“At least we were not in the middle of a more amorous activity,” Aziraphale suggested as she wrapped her arm around Crowley. 

“Don’t give the universe any ideas. Besides, you wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh really?” Aziraphale’s tone was teasing, a playful lilt to it as she squeezed Crowley closer. 

Crowley narrowed her eyes at her smiling angel and said, “Bastard.”

Aziraphale hummed in agreement as she worked to steady her breathing to resume dozing. Adam gave one last squirm and a squeaky yawn meaning ‘hush mums’. Nap time finally started again as the morning sun came in through the front windows as it peaked between clouds and the rain let up. 

===================

Crowley had to dig out the old paperwork for his followup assignment on the Anti-Christ to remember what cover story Hell had given him for the Dowlings. The visits with Crowley in female form to the estate were timed so that the Dowlings would either not be at home or too busy to take notice of Anathema’s guests. 

It was Warlock’s birthday and of course the press was having a field day over the Dowlings. Crowley was acting as Anathema and Warlock’s getaway driver as soon as the press and parents were done with the child for the day. Aziraphale and other birthday boy, Adam, were at the cottage waiting for their guests to come back so their day could really get started. 

It wasn’t until lunchtime that the group arrived at the South Downs cottage to find Aziraphale and Adam on the couch together. Adam was sitting in Aziraphale’s lap and helping his mother turn the pages to the newest suggested fiction novel for gay men as she read aloud to him. 

“Angels, we’re home!” Crowley announced as he opened the door, Anathema with Warlock on her hip just behind the demon.

“Welcome home, darling!” Aziraphale called back as she put a bookmark in place and closed the book.

Aziraphale put Adam on her hip and made her way around the couch to give Crowley a kiss and greet their guests.

“Anathema! How are you?” Aziraphale brightened as she gave the witch a peck on the cheek in greeting.

“Glad to be out of the house and not surrounded by press,” Anathema said with a sigh of relief.

“And how is birthday boy Warlock?” Aziraphale cooed at the infant after she gave Anathema a comforting smile.

Warlock fussed but stammered his request, “Nana, fufu.”

“Of course dear boy, we can do food. Is it that late already?” Aziraphale turned her attention to the contented Adam.

Adam blinked a few times, he had lost track of time as well, and asked, “Luuun?”

Crowley looked at the watch on his wrist and confirmed, “Yes Adam. Lunch.”

======

All the parenting books differed on what milestones should be reached by the time Adam reached his first birthday. It was one of the frustrating features of the three books Crowley had bought for Aziraphale as a ‘happy adopting the Anti-Christ’ gift. Aziraphale had of course read all the books to both Crowley and Adam at least once all the way through, and Adam seemed to prefer the book that suggested a faster development. Adam seemed to use it as a stepping stone as Aziraphale would reference that particular book especially as a short nap ‘story.’ As an early birthday gift, Crowley bought a new toddler parenting book that had Adam’s preference and had given it to Aziraphale yesterday.

After lunch, the group went to the park in the village to play with the other kids the boys’ age. Adam already had three favorites, a girl named Pepper, a boy named Brian, and another boy named Wensleydale. The small group easily welcomed Warlock into their shenanigans as they traded and played with toys, and chased balls – most of them still found crawling the fastest mode of movement. 

As time passed, the other moms gathered their children to take them home, but it wasn’t quite Adam or Warlock’s nap time yet. 

“What shall we do next?” Anathema asked as they stood from the bench they had occupied.

“The guy who painted our cottage said he had a surprise for the birthday boy. I honestly have no idea what it is,” Crowley said as he took Aziraphale’s hand. 

“That’s sweet,” Aziraphale cooed. Crowley had not told her about the surprise.

Crowley shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to Adam who had pulled himself to standing, only wobbling and bumping into the sitting Warlock once. Adam clapped in celebration and it earned his mama’s bright smile. Adam then set his determination, checked his balance, and then set one foot in front of the other. He got about three steps in before a stray branch tripped him up and he fell face first into the grass. Aziraphale and Crowley made sure not to fuss, and instead picked the boy up from his prone state and congratulated him on his first unassisted steps. It was Adam’s birthday gift to his parents, and he could not be more proud of himself. 

At the small art studio, Crowley made the introductions at Aziraphale’s insistence since Crowley had met both Newt and Anathema first. 

“Newt, this is our friend Anathema, the one you painted the guest room for. And that is her charge, another birthday boy, Warlock.”

Newt nervously cleared his throat as he shook Anathema’s hand. “Ah, uh. Nice to meet you. Do you like the purple?”

Anathema smiled sweetly at Newt’s nerves and said, “I do. It matches the accent color in the bathroom.”

Newt didn’t let go of Anathema’s hand right away. It was Adam’s giggle that brought the painter back to reality. Newt nearly dropped the lovely hand in shock as he jumped to look at the birthday boy. 

“Hey Adam. You ready for your surprise?”

Adam clapped enthusiastically, and Newt motioned with the bucket in his other hand to the door. The group exited the shop and Newt put the bucket down and opened it to reveal chalk of different sizes and colors. The group settled down on the sidewalk out front, and Newt tipped the bucket over to release the contents to roll. Warlock was the first to put chalk in his mouth and found the taste quite unpleasant. Adam giggled at Warlock’s disgusted face as he grasped at a rather large cylinder for himself that had rolled within reach.

Aziraphale was just as excited as the boys, and it tickled Crowley to see the angel carefully choose a smaller diameter chalk for herself. Newt showed Adam and Warlock how to use the chalk while the other adults started on art projects of their own. Anathema crafted a mandala with intricate designs, Crowley sketched a picture of a serpent with an apple sheltered from a rain cloud by a white wing, and Aziraphale concentrated on her calligraphy that would read ‘Happy Birthday Adam and Warlock.’ 

The chalk playtime lasted until it was snack time, when Newt helped everyone get cleaned up in his small kitchen and offered the bananas he had bought then forgotten about which were just starting to turn brown in places. After snack time, Crowley took pictures of everyone’s artwork, and the group made their goodbyes to the young artist. Then Adam and Warlock were loaded into the Bentley for their nap. The next stop on the itinerary was the London Zoo, and the drive was the perfect amount of time for the boys to nap and be ready for their next adventure. 

No one was sure who to blame for all the animals being active that afternoon. Anathema theorized that the rodents and reptiles were Crowley’s doing, the birds and lions were Aziraphale’s doing, and Adam was doing the rest. In any case, everyone had a fantastic time, Adam and Warlock were full of energy, walking with support and being lifted to see the animals. The two babbled constantly, sometimes over Aziraphale who was trying to read each placard to the now one-year-olds. Crowley could not help but chuckle when the angel huffed and gave up her effort about a fourth of the way though the zoo.

When they were done at the zoo, the secret service arrived to pick up Anathema and Warlock to take them back to the estate. They had a flight to catch in the morning to spend a second birthday party with Mr. Dowling’s family back in America. With Adam secured in the back of the Bentley, the family went to the next stop in the day’s itinerary, with a quick stopover to Crowley’s flat to change and threaten the plants.

Eve waited patiently in the lobby of the Ritz. She loved arriving early to bask in the grandeur of the place. She held Adam’s birthday present, a musical instrument set that the internet had suggested for a boy his age. The box was wrapped in light blue paper and was adorned with a simplistic black bow. Eve was excited to see the family again, the last time she had seen them was for a picnic lunch at Saint James’s Park a month ago.

When the family arrived, Adam was the one to spot Eve and wiggled to be put down. Aziraphale waited until they were closer to let the struggling baby down so he could show Eve his progress. Crowley took Eve’s purse and present so she could navigate crouching down in her dress. Aziraphale helped Adam steady himself on his feet, and Adam took four independent steps towards Eve. Eve scooped him up and exuberantly showered his giggling face with kisses as she told him happy birthday. Adam wanted Eve to carry him to their reserved table, and insisted on sitting between her and his mama, who was still the one in charge of food.

Crowley was secretly happy that Adam had weaned easily, he was down to one breastfeeding for breakfast already. As an added bonus, Crowley usually got to watch the angel do the most domestic and human thing, cooking in their kitchen. If Aziraphale knew Crowley was going to be her audience, she would wear the silly but still practical apron that Crowley had found in a shop that had in bold letters, ‘Kiss the cook’. Crowley smiled as he mused about this, already slouched in his chair and with an off-hand gesture ordered the first bottle of wine to get the evening started.

======

It was quite late and Aziraphale didn’t want to travel all the way back to the cottage after Adam’s birthday dinner at the Ritz. Therefore, they let Adam decide on which London flat he wanted to spend the night. The birthday boy chose the resource center, which both parents found quite sentimental. Despite the routine they had established, Adam was wide awake and ready to play once they got upstairs. Aziraphale went to the kitchen to retrieve more wine as Crowley helped Adam unbox his gift from Eve. Aziraphale and Crowley settled on the couch together to watch Adam bang on his new musical instruments. 

It only took the time for the angel and demon to demolish one bottle of wine before Adam started to get sluggish. Aziraphale had to pry herself from underneath her lounging demon to pick up Adam and get him ready as per his bedtime routine. With diaper and clothes changed, Adam settled into his crib for his bedtime story after kisses from both parents. Crowley had pouted for a minute alone on the couch about having his warm pillow move, then decided to join Aziraphale and Adam in the bedroom.

Instead of grabbing a book, Aziraphale leaned over the crib to smile down at Adam and asked, “How about a special story for our birthday boy?”

Adam gave a short clap of excitement before he was interrupted by his own yawn. Aziraphale beamed a bit more before she went over to give Crowley a quick kiss. Crowley was intrigued as he sprawled on the edge of the bed, more of a suggestion of sitting than actually sitting. 

“There once was an odd bookseller,” Aziraphale started as she made her way back towards the crib, “his preferred the company of his tomes. He only had one true friend in the world, someone he had known from the Beginning.”

“It started small, their friendship, the bookseller sheltering the other from the first thunderstorm,” Crowley stood from the bed and added to the exposition.

“Quite. This friend worked hard to keep their relationship going despite their work situation. At times the bookseller had been mean and pushed his friend away to keep him safe.”

“This friend was tougher than that, and came back every time anyway,” Crowley commented, circling Aziraphale as the angel continued. 

“And the bookseller could not have been any more grateful that his plan to drive away his friend had been thwarted. And this brings us to a year ago, when the bookseller’s life changed forever.”

Crowley smiled and stole a kiss before he took over the story, saying, “The friend had been given a hard assignment from work, and he knew what the outcome would be if he followed his orders to the letter. So he decided to go to the one place in the world where he felt safe, to the one person he trusted, the bookseller.”

Adam yawned with a squeak, his normal warning that sleep was fast approaching and a stopping point needed to be reached. 

Aziraphale took the story back over, saying, “The friend brought a baby to the bookseller and asked to make a family together. The two had been in love forever, and the baby was the catalyst that they needed to finally bring them together.”

“Now it’s been a year, and so much has changed. The bookseller and the friend are happier than they have ever been,” Crowley inserted as he took the angel’s hand.

“Happy birthday Adam,” Aziraphale whispered to the now fast-asleep baby, as she squeezed the hand she was holding before she used it to lead Crowley out of the bedroom and back into the living room.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think!
> 
> Research is ongoing as I continue to work on this series. I'm literally reading a toddler development book as my wife deals with the technical side of posting this installment lol
> 
> I have a general idea of where we're going ultimately, but no specific route planned, so who knows what (or when) the next installment will be--Adam take the wheel!


End file.
